Dream players speak out after co-owner Kelly Loeffler’s latest Black Lives Matter comments
Atlanta Dream co-owner Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) may have doubled down on her stance against the Black Lives Matter movement, but her players are once again hitting back.
In a unified statement on Friday afternoon, the Dream players reiterated that they are “united in the Movement for Black Lives.”
— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) July 10, 2020
“We are the women of the Atlanta Dream,” the players wrote, with their signatures added at the bottom. “We are the women who support a movement. We are strong and we are fearless. We offer a voice to the voiceless. Our team is united in the Movement for Black Lives.
“It is not extreme to demand change after centuries of inequality. This is not a political statement. This is a statement of humanity.”
Loeffler sent a letter to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert this week denouncing the league’s plan to support social justice during its modified season in Florida. She continued again on Wednesday, slamming “politics coming into sports,” claiming she’s being canceled and insisting that she will not give up her share of the team — despite the WNBPA’s and several players’ calls for her to do so.
“What I see is politics coming into sports,” she said this week. “No one has asked politics to come into sports. Sports are about unifying people. People from all walks of life from all political views should be welcomed in sports and to cancel someone because they want to protect innocent life; because they are fighting for the unborn; because they support the Second Amendment; because I support the constitutional rights that have been given to us by God? Why would that not fit as part of American sports culture? That should be a tenet of sports, is to welcome all views.”
Loeffler, who was appointed to her Senate seat, is up for election in November. She was accused of insider trading in March, and has not served as governor of the team since October 2019 and is no longer involved in day-to-day operations of the team, the league said this week.
While Loeffler seems committed to her stances and ownership of the team, it’s clear that the Dream players aren’t just going to sit by and watch her slam the movement they all support.
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